From Mothman to Poppy Mountain, a feast of fests this weekend

If you’re looking for something to do this weekend, you don’t have to look far. There’s a feast of festivals all over the Tri-State and beyond as the calendar turns into autumn.

Here’s a look at just a few of those great fests.

Mothman Festival: 12th annual Mothman Festival runs Saturday and Sunday, Sept. 21-22 in downtown Point Pleasant, W.Va. There’s live music, guest speakers, tours to the TNT area (where Mothman was spotted) and much more, from noon to 9 p.m. Saturday and noon to 5 p.m. Sunday. New this year is the free Mothman Ball at 10 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 21 at the State Theater as DJ Kos will be creating some late-night creep with a live music/ sci-fi/paranormal/horror video show to accompany the music. For more info and complete schedules on the fest, go online at www.mothmanfestival.com and click onto events and attractions

Poage Landing Days: 18th annual Poage Landing Days runs Friday, Sept. 20 through Sunday, Sept. 22, has stages on 16th and 15th Streets in downtown. National act headliners this year include: a Saturday night concert with country supergroup, Diamond Rio. That show will be emceed by Cledus T Judd, and Judy and Clint from the Cledus T Party on WTCR-FM, 103.3. The Shane Runion Band will also perform. On Sunday, the hard-hitting Nashville bluegrass band, The Steeldrivers will take the stage. A slew of local acts will also perform including Tim Preston, Tim Holmes, Mothman, Ashby Foutch, Against The Grain, Dustin Burchett, Bronson Bush, Sister Redden Hair, Steve Free, Stephen Salyers, the Christ Temple Brotherhood Choir, and many others. Musicwise, the Poage Landing Days will also feature the Ed Haley Fiddle Fest, which pays homage to the late, great fiddler who inspired such legends as John Hartford. There’s also the slalom skateboarding races, the Kentucky Fried Cone Fests, and much more. Go online at www.poagelandingdays.com for more info.

Poppy Mountain: Sept. 17-21. Poppy Mountain Bluegrass Festival, just east of Morehead , Ky. Offering more than 1,000 acres of camping and featuring 100 bands performing on dual stages, this event attracts more than 20,000 visitors and is a must-see for lovers of bluegrass music. Visit https://www.facebook.com/PoppyMountainBluegrass.

Sorghum Festival: 15th annual Sorghum Festival is Saturday, Sept. 21 at the farm out at County Rd. 161 (Willow Creek Road) South Point, Ohio.Gates open early (7 a.m.) for apple butter and sorghum making and at noon they’ll be a good flow of live bluegrass gospel from the Yesterday’s Gospel. They’ll also be concessions, beans and cornbread, wagon rides, corn hole, horseshoes and more. For info, call 740-894-4294 or 740-646-1699.

Kentucky Bourbon Festival: Sept. 17 through Sunday, Sept. 22, The 22nd annual Kentucky Bourbon Festival has more than 40 events and attractions. Learn about all things bourbon from bourbon mixology and cooking with bourbon, to dining and dancing in black-tie style to witnessing the World Championship Bourbon Barrel Relay. Go online at www.kybourbonfestival.com for a full schedule of events.

73rd annual Jackson Apple Festival in Jackson, Ohio: (about an hour north of Huntington), runs Sept. 17-21 with all things apple and then some. There are three parades, a car show, band competition, tons of live music, and of course, all things apple. There’s an apple peeling contest, apple cornhole and bingo, apple bobbing, and lots of homemade apple butter, apple pies, and candy apples. For more info, call 740-286-1339 or go online at www.jacksonapplefestival.com .

Grape Stompin: Since Kirkwood Winery in Summersville first opened in 1992, it has been host to the Kirkwood Grape Stomping Festival. On Saturday, Sept. 21, enjoy grape stomping, grape eating, wine tastings, tours of the Isiah Morgan Distillery and the Winery and lots of other fun from covered wagon and buggy rides to a stream of live music from such acts as The Davisson Brothers. Go online at www.kirkwood-wine.com for more info about the 22nd Annual Kirkwood Winery Grape Stompin’ Festival as well as the WV winery and distillery.

The 150th Annual Emancipation Celebration: The longest continually held celebration in the country, will kick off Friday, Sept. 20 with a Homecoming Reception and Concert at the historic Ariel-Ann Carson Dater Performing Arts Centre, at 426 Second Ave., in downtown Gallipolis, Ohio. After the Friday concert, a candlelight walk to the Ohio River. On Saturday, festivities will move to Bob Evans Farms, 1054 State Route 588 in Rio Grande, Ohio. Saturday’s lineup includes Civil War musician Steve Ball, a reunion of the gospel choir, “Youth United For Christ,” The Saints Drumline, and Sabrina Tutstone. Vocalists Philip Armstrong and Crystal Wagner will perform on both Saturday and Sunday. Also, Sunday gospel music and speaker Yvette McGee Brown, the first African-American female Justice on the Ohio Supreme Court. The United States Colored Troops (USCT) 5th Regiment re-enactors will be encamped on the Bob Evans grounds, and Civil War re-enactors personifying Abraham Lincoln (Fritz Klein), Frederick Douglass (Michael Crutcher) and Harriet Tubman (Ilene Evans). A complete schedule is available online at www.emancipation-day.com.